


The Way You Look Tonight

by RomeoandAntoinette



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Champagne, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, Innuendo, M/M, Slow Dancing, Yoosk is the best boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 23:36:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette
Summary: Souji and Yosuke spend their first Christmas together as an official couple. [For Souyo Secret Santa 2018] [A gift for user youngizzik].





	The Way You Look Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [youngizzik](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=youngizzik).



> Happy holidays, youngizzik! I hope you enjoy this festive, Souyo package. 
> 
> All three of the prompts you submitted were so tempting, but I ended up going for Prompt #2 and writing something about the boys just enjoying a peaceful holiday at home as an official couple! It was a blast to write, but I hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoy it!  
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this little gift from me to you! <3

Yosuke took a deep breath before picking up the large, glass bottle. With steeled nerves, he turned toward the two champagne flutes before taking one of the stems in a shaky hand. He titled the delicate glass at an angle before slowly moving the edge of the heavy bottle to the opening of the narrow container. Despite his vacillating grip, he tried to make sure the two surfaces met without any startling clanking noises that would immediately alert others around him to his struggle.

Thankfully, the only other person in his apartment was his roommate, Souji Seta.

The two had lived with each other in Tokyo since graduating from their separate high schools. After that, the close quarters combined with the unwavering bond that had guided them through hundreds of battles inside and outside the TV World served as perfect inspiration for both to confess their pent-up feelings for each other.

They’d only been dating for a few months, but as the winter season rolled in like a creeping cold front, Yosuke realized that it would be the first time he would celebrate the holiday with a romantic partner.

The young man would have never predicted in a hundred years that he would be celebrating his first, romantic holiday with a city kid that had pulled him out of the garbage after school one day.

Now, the infamous "Princes of Junes" and Yasogami High's "Hot Transfer Student" were living together in college…and celebrating their very first Christmas as a couple.

When Yosuke had first expressed his excitement to Souji about the upcoming holiday, he was surprised to see that his boyfriend’s reaction was rather tepid compared to his own. It hardly mirrored his own passionate energy. In previous years, Yosuke had always hated the holidays for obvious reasons when he worked in retail. Some parts of him still felt similarly, especially since he was still a student that still had to attend classes and had very little money to splurge on gifts. However, something about the idea of spending a holiday with a romantic partner for the first time of his life completely renewed his enthusiasm for the holiday. As a result, he was somewhat curious as to why Souji didn’t feel the same way.

He then confessed to Yosuke that the first and only time he’d celebrated Christmas was when they’d formed the Investigation Team in Inaba.  He, Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie had spent the evening eating snacks and chatting casually. It hadn’t been a momentous occasion, but to Souji, it had been a special evening.

When Souji admitted he’d never really experienced a traditional holiday because of how often his parents had to travel for business, nor had he ever spent Christmas with anyone romantically, Yosuke made it his goal to give his boyfriend the best Christmas he could ever wish for. The fawn-haired man had every intention of going all out to make the festivities so memorable that Souji would have no choice but to look forward to the holiday every year afterward.

Yosuke had even vacation day from work to prepare a handful of snacks and decorating their modest apartment with lights and baubles. He’d even gone out and bought champagne for the occasion. The fluted bottle said the concoction had both lemon and pastry-flavored notes. How it was possible to bottle the essence of a baked good into alcohol, Yosuke would never know. To him, it just tasted like really good, fizzy booze. Despite the pretentious description, the champagne wasn’t anything too fancy, but it was a brand he knew was good enough for Junes to make and sell its own spin-off version at a discounted price. Similar taste, packaging, obnoxiously tight cork, and foiled cap. The whole shebang.

That meant it had to be good stuff, in Yosuke’s humble opinion.

He must have practiced pouring the champagne at least a dozen times. He wanted to make sure he could fill the narrow glass without it bubbling over and without missing the opening and spilling the sparkling liquid all over the apartment floor.

Yosuke wanted everything to be _perfect._ He wanted to give holiday commercials and sappy Christmas movies a run for their money.

More than anything, he wanted to give his boyfriend the best holiday he could ever ask for. And, hopefully…he’d be able to give him the same fantastic celebration year after year.

Just the thought made Yosuke go bright red in the face, and he hadn’t even had a sip of booze yet.

“Yosuke?” Souji piped up from his position at the futon. “Are you okay?”

The voice caught him off guard. After a small fumble, he recovered gracefully and shot his boyfriend a quick glance over his shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Yosuke squeaked out a little too quickly to fully sound reassuring. Then, after clearing his throat gruffly, repeated in a more even tone, “I’m totally fine! I’ll be over in just a sec.”

By some miracle, or his practice suddenly deciding to pay off, he tipped the evergreen-colored bottle until both glasses were filled to the brim with sparkling bubbles. Not a drop of the liquid ran over the rim and onto the floor below. Yosuke heaved a sigh of relief when he felt only the persistent coolness of the glass on the bottom of his palm, without any trace of additional wetness.

Feigning casualness, Yosuke turned around from the kitchen island and walked toward the kotatsu slowly with the precariously full glasses. “I’m totally fine, man. Here.”

Souji smiled and accepted the glass. “Thank you, Yosuke. That’s really sweet, but you didn’t have to do this.”

“Nah, I wanted to,” Yosuke said with a casual wave of the hand. “I just hope it’s good. I’m not super-versed in champagne, but this bottle comes with pretty high marks."

Souji smiled at him over the rim of the glass. When Yosuke saw it, he felt his cheeks flame from just one glance.

 _“How is it even legal for someone to be so attractive?”_ he thought.

“…I'm also mulling so wine in the slow cooker, just in case you’re not a bubbles guy,” Yosuke said, starting to ramble because of how distracted he was by Souji’s handsome face. Then, after hearing the words come out of his mouth, he wanted to smack himself.

_“A ‘bubbles guy?’ Who the heck says that?”_

Apparently, the terminology didn’t dissuade Souji for a second. In fact, he interrupted his boyfriend’s embarrassed musing by lifting his glass high in the air. “Mulled wine, huh? Very fancy. Let’s start with the champagne though. In fact...let's take it a step further. I propose a toast.”

The declaration intrigued Yosuke immediately. Souji was a guy of few words, so any time he set a moment aside to make a special declaration, people dropped everything to listen. Yosuke was no exception.

“Oh, really?” he asked, interest piqued. His fingers walked casually to the stem of his glass. "This should be interesting. Take it away, partner!"

“Gladly,” Souji said, keeping his glass high in the air. “I propose a toast to _you_ , Yosuke Hanamura, for making this evening possible. Also, for making me feel like the luckiest guy in Tokyo.”

The light blush that was leftover on Yosuke’s cheeks from just glimpsing at Souji’s dashing smile turned into a full-blown supernova of heat that bloomed from the tips of his ears and all the way down the column of his neck.

“Dude, c’mon, you know, I can’t toast to myself…” Yosuke stuttered in embarrassment.

He barely had time to finish the thought before Souji smiled at him mischievously.

He casually bumped the rims of their two glasses together. The musical reverberation filled the room. “ Oops. Too late. Already done.”

“Hey!” Yosuke yelled, shooting Souji a glare as the silver-haired man took a sip of the sweet liquid. All the while, he maintained a neutral expression of complete innocence.  However, Yosuke knew his partner well enough to see past the thin veneer and see the true smugness on Souji’s face.

Yosuke grumbled through a smile, “You little…”

Following suit, Yosuke took a sip from his own glass. Not surprisingly, the taste was satisfying, and the bubbly texture created a fizzy feeling that lingered on his tongue even after swallowed. It was almost impossible to not smile at the ticklish sensation.

“Mmmm…that’s good,” Souji complimented sincerely. “Apparently you’re a better connoisseur of champagne than you think.”

While Souji was never one to avoiding praising his friends, Yosuke was different. He wanted to make sure Yosuke knew how much he truly and genuinely appreciated all the painstaking effort he’d put into the holiday. All he’d had to do was say one thing about never really celebrating Christmas and, next thing he knew, Yosuke was off to the races in preparing recipes and decorating the entire apartment.

It touched his heart so much that, deep inside, he could even feel the gentle warmth of Izanagi’s satisfaction permeate through him like a ray of sunshine.

While Souji savored the champagne, Yosuke rolled his eyes at his boyfriend’s teasing and took another long sip. “Well, I didn’t have to make _this_ , so of course it's good. Everything else we have to eat and drink tonight is courtesy of my cooking skills.”

While Yosuke had intended the statement to downplay his abilities in the kitchen, it had the opposite effect on Souji.

“Sounds perfect to me,” he replied with a wide smile, eyes shining with legitimate excitement at the prospect of sampling his boyfriend’s home-cooking. “I can’t wait to try everything. You know, I don't think I've never tried your cooking before.”

As Yosuke got up to walk to the kitchen, he cast a wide-eyed glance in his partner’s general direction.

“Really?” he asked as he slid on the ridiculous, cat-shaped oven mitts Souji had purchased for their apartment. “I swear you’ve had my cooking before. At least once, right?”

Souji lifted a hand to his chin while he hummed in thought. As he recounted every evening from high school that he and Yosuke had spent alone, they’d always eaten at either the June foodcourt or Aiya’s. A few sparse time, Souji had been able to cook a few special dishes for Yosuke in his kitchen. He’d also made him some bento lunchboxes on a few occasions.

“No, I don’t think so,” he finally remarked. “I know I’d remember it.”

“Well then, you better prepare yourself for a real treat!” Yosuke said, his confidence returning as the oven timer chimed merrily. He turned off the timer and switched the over off before reaching inside. “I can’t promise it’ll be as good as anything you can whip up with those magic hands of yours, but I can promise that it’ll be much more appetizing than the curry the girls made on that one camping trip!”

Souji, who was wearing a very warm sweater, shivered in fear at the memory alone. A plate of sand would have been appetizing that whatever hellish concoction the girls’ cooking had resulted in during the school camping trip, but he didn’t dare to say such a mean thought out loud.

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious,” he said confidently.

As Yosuke hustled in the kitchen with gathering utensils and plates, Souji stood up in an attempt to run over and help. However, before he even had the chance to take a few steps forward, Yosuke told him to turn around and sit back down.

“I’m taking care of everything tonight, remember?” he asked. “Relax, partner.”

With a tiny huff at Yosuke’s stubbornness, Souji finally resigned and sat back down at the table. Now, he was even more curious to see what tricks Yosuke had up his sleeves for the evening.

Contradicting tradition just a smidge, Yosuke revealed that he'd prepared homemade braised chicken as an alternative to just buying a large batch of pre-fried pieces from the nearest convenience store. From the fridge, he also brandished a homemade sponge cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. The top was decorated with tiny, dark chocolate hearts. Dark chocolate was also Souji’s favorite, so the small confectionary embellishment couldn't have been a mere coincidence. 

The silver-eyed man was agape at the impressive spread. and wasted no time expressing his disbelief. “Yosuke, this all looks incredible! You made all this by yourself?”

Yosuke chuckled proudly as he carried the food to the kotatsu carefully. “You bet! I had to consult the internet on most of it, but I added a few special touches of my own!”

The dark chocolate hearts were just one of those many personal touches, no doubt.

Although a smile tugged at the corner of Souji's lips, something still nagged at him about the entire feast.

“…How did you find the time to do all this?” Souji asked as he accepted a bundle of silverware that Yosuke extended an arm to offer him from across the table. "I mean, this all looks absolutely delicious, but a Christmas Cake alone takes a lot of time to make. Yet, you also mulled wine and made dinner too? That's a lot of work for just one evening."

Souji’s second question elicited a more hesitant reply than the previous one.

“Eh, I made a few calls, pulled some strings,” Yosuke confessed as he placed two plates on the table. His delivery was nothing short of campy, making Souji realizing he was trying to play off his efforts.

When Souji offered him a more skeptical stare, Yosuke finally relented and fessed up. “Okay, so, maybe I did some extra homework a couple weeks ago, so I could skip a few classes. It all worked out though, so…”

The confession shook Souji to his core.

“ _Yosuke,_ ” he interrupted briskly, mouth hanging open in shock. His silver eyes shone with an emotion Yosuke had never seen before. “You didn’t.”

“I…I did,” Yosuke said guiltily. “I mean, what are partners for, right? I wasn’t kidding about giving you the best Christmas ever, you know.”

The admission rendered him speechless.

"You...did all that just for me?" he asked.

Yosuke bobbed his head quickly, as if it was the easier questions he'd ever answered in his entire life.

Souji felt humbled beyond words. He drew a long breath before blinking, trying to keep his emotions at bay as he stared back at Yosuke. In a measured voice, he smiled tenderly and said, “Thank you, Yosuke. Seriously, this is already the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”

Not liking how wet his boyfriend’s eyes suddenly looked, the fawn-haired man chuckled in his usual carefree fashion. “Well, if you think it’s been good so far, wait until we dig into this food! Seriously, dude, prepare yourself.”

He really was like a ray of sunshine. No matter what, Yosuke could turn any situation or moment on a dime and instantly elevate people’s spirits. At that moment, Souji’s turbulent emotions were replaced by a swell of absolute adoration. It was just one of the many reminders that evening that made Souji remember why he was absolutely head over heels in love with Yosuke Hanamura.

“Well, then, no use in letting this spread get cold,” Souji laughed. After pushing up the sleeves of his bulky sweater, he reached for a pair of chopsticks and pulled them apart with a satisfying snap. “Thanks for the food.”

“Hell yeah,” Yosuke cheered as he reached for a pair of chopsticks. No nobody's surprised, the broke apart unevenly. “Dig in!”

As they ate and sipped their drinks (as well as a couple refills), Yosuke decided to cue up some background music on his computer to enhance the festiveness of the occasion even more. He reached over to their sofa where his laptop sat, plugged in and ready to go. He opened the slim machine and instantly went online to find one of the many holiday-themed playlists on his favorite site that was currently streaming radio live.

After a few clicks, he finally found one that looked like a promising mixture of top hits and more serene, ambient tunes. After a few seconds of buffering, the sound of a saxophone and gentle piano sounds commenced playing gently through the laptop’s speaker. To Souji's surprise, the first song that came on was also a ballad that had English lyrics.

Thanks to his uncannily broad knowledge of music, Yosuke instantly recognized the song.

“Oh, _this one,_ ” he said. “It’s in English, but it’s a mega-hit during the holidays. It’s not even a Christmas song, but hey, ‘tis the season for romance, I guess. I hear it everywhere this time of year.”

“Really?” Souji asked while taking another bite of cake.

“Yeah,” he replied. Then, with a nervous chuckle, he added in a soft voice, “It’s kinda romantic. Or, maybe not. I dunno. It’s older. I think some people are sick of hearing it, but I think it’s really…pretty.”

Souji’s heart became soft at the sound of Yosuke’s hesitant words.

He was well aware his boyfriend was still trying to be comfortable with expressing his true interests and thoughts after being a victim of toxic masculinity for far too many years, mostly due to his old group of neglectful friends. Souji not only appreciated how much Yosuke had grown since their second year of high school, but was always deeply moved whenever he made intentional strides to not hide his true feelings. While Souji couldn’t guarantee how anyone else would react, he would be damned if he didn’t encourage him to be true to himself whenever the opportunity arose.

“Pretty, huh?” he asked, tilting his head a bit as if he was trying to lend his ear to hear the soft music. The word was a gentle, and optional, prompt for Yosuke to elaborate on his opinion. Needless to say, the persuasion worked.

“Y-Yeah…” Yosuke nodded, still stuttering but somewhat more intentional with his succinct reply. “I do. I mean, wouldn’t this be nice to hear on a date or something?”

“You mean like right now?” he teased, brow waggling at Yosuke’s attempt at creating a verbal detour Souji had zero interest in following.

“...Well, I guess I _am_ wining and dining you, just like a date,” Yosuke mused with a light laugh as he popped a strawberry in his mouth. “So, actually, yeah.”

Souji was immediately curious. If Yosuke was familiar with a song he didn't know, _and_ thought it was romantic, he definitely wanted to hear it as well.

“Can you turn it up?” he asked. “I’d like to hear it.”

“Oh,” Yosuke gasped, a little surprised the inquiry. “Um, yeah. Sure.”

Yosuke cranked the volume bit by bit, until the sound rose above its default, ambient level so that the lyrics were audible without having to strain. Surely enough, Souji started to make out the lyrics to the lively song.

_“Someday, when I'm awfully low,_

_“When the world is cold,_

_“I will feel a glow just thinking of you..._

_“And the way you look tonight.”_

“Hm…it’s a nice melody,” Souji purred as he drummed his fingers against the tabletop. The song definitely sounded familiar, and he realized that he had most likely heard it in movies or various holiday commercials before, but never on its own as an isolated track without any additional stimulus or background noise.

While Souji looked perfectly tranquil while enjoying the track, Yosuke seemed to become flustered as the lyrics filled the intimate space of their living room.

“You know, it's funny, I just heard this song when I was grocery shopping earlier today,” Yosuke said with a laugh as he scratched the back of his neck. “It’s kinda cliché and overused, I guess.”

The lyrics, for some reason, were making him feel unusually embarrassed. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but as he looked back over to Souji to see that he’d closed his eyes and appeared to be humming along under his breath, he had a strong suspicion in his gut as to what the reason could be.

“I don’t think so,” Souji offered with kind eyes. “In fact, I like it.”

Yosuke looked back at him incredulously from across the table. “You do?”

“I do,” he replied with a nod. The tapping of his fingers continued to match the song’s rhythm perfectly.

Then, without warning, the silver-haired man opened his matching, steely eyes and scooted began to circle the table on his knees. Yosuke watched him move curiously until, eventually, Souji was so close that the tips of their knees were touching beneath the heated pad of the kotatsu.

“Hey, dance with me,” Souji asked, shining as he leaned forward to steal Yosuke’s hands into his own.

Meanwhile, Yosuke blathered out a confused, “What? You want to dance? Seriously?”

“Seriously, I do,” he insisted. Souji unfolded his knees slowly to stand up, keeping a firm grip on Yosuke’s hands all the while. As he stood slowly, he tugged Yosuke’s hands up with him until Yosuke had to lift his arms all the way over his head from his seated position. Slowly, he followed Souji’s movements and moved away from the table so he could rise to his feet and meet him face-to-face.

“Oh, but you have to lead,” Souji quipped, snaking a hand down to settle against the distinct indent of Yosuke’s hipbone. “Since I don’t know the song as well as you.”

Yosuke’s face was a blank for a moment, as if he was unsure of how to react to the very sudden and very random proposition. Souji worried for a moment that he’d ruined the mood of the evening, but the fear evaporated instantly when Yosuke flashed him an amused smile and swept him close.

“We’ll start slow, then,” he said with a flirtatious lilt in his voice. “Don't worry. You’ll pick up on the steps in no time.”

Souji rested one of his hands comfortably against Yosuke’s shoulder and moved his other to Yosuke’s hand. Almost immediately, their fingers laced and their palms rubbed with delicious, addictive friction. “Lead the way, _partner._ ”

Yosuke swallowed hard at the emphasized term of endearment. His boyfriend was very well aware that him using the term ‘partner’ during their more romantic moments always _did things_ to him, especially since Souji usually just called him by his first name instead.

The use of pet names was one of the many games the couple played.

Over the years, Yosuke had started to pick up a few tricks of his own. No longer was he as easy to beat as he’d been back in high school.

“My pleasure,” Yosuke fired back with a flirtatious smirk of his own. “Try to keep up, _Souji._ ”

It was hard to not chuckle victoriously when he saw a flush of crimson brighten Souji’s pale complexion.

Slowly, the two swayed to the soft melody. While Yosuke had teased his partner about not being able to keep up, they two had such little space in their living area that they couldn’t actually dance correctly to the melody. Instead, they matched their steps in languid motions, swaying to and fro a couple paces at a time.

Yosuke knew the song was short, so their dance wouldn’t last long. He cherished every bump of their hips, every gentle caress of their legs, and each breath he felt stirred like an excited hummingbird inside Souji’s ribcage. They were finely in tune with each other’s bodies, from the speed of each other’s pulse to the sound of their shallow breaths when their faces lingered dangerously close or their hips met with hints of urgency that dancing full clothes would never be able to fully satiate.

_“Yes, you're lovely, with your smile so warm,_

_“And your cheeks so soft,_

_“There is nothing for me…but to love you,_

_“And the way you look tonight.”_

Souji placed a kiss on his boyfriend’s warm cheek, relishing in the plume of heat he felt brim to the surface. When he pulled his head back a few inches to get a better view of Yosuke’s eyes, he found them staring back at him with fiery-orange passion.

If Yosuke’s eyes were fire, Souji’s were smoke.

The two shades were part of an inseparable, linked reaction. There wasn’t a law in on land or in the heavens that could that forced them apart.

Souji lifted the hand he’d placed on Yosuke’s hip and slowly traced it up the contours of his abdomen and chest until he could cradle Yosuke’s warm cheek. With a hair’s breadth of force, he lifted his jaw so it was mere inches from his own.

When their eyes met, gazed slightly tilted, Souji was spellbound by the sight.

“Yosuke…”

The sound was so silent it was as if Souji had called his name from deep in his heart instead of from his lips.

The whisper came out as a plea. Inspired to fulfill his boyfriend’s silent wish, Yosuke slowly rose on his tiptoes to angle his face below Souji’s so their features could fit together.

Then, he pressed their lips together gently. The taste of champagne, cream and strawberries lingered with each scalding touch as they relished in the sweetness of each other’s mouths. They separated and slid their jaws together over and over again, trying different approaches and angles until their lips were raw from the gentle grinding motions.

When they separated, breathless and panting, they shared lovesick grins before lightly bumping their forehead together. Slowly, their steps came to a halt as the music finished it swell and began to wind down.

_“'...'Cause I love you._

_“…Just the way you look tonight.”_

With a few more strokes on the piano, the melody finally came to an end.

As soon as the room around them grew quiet, Yosuke was the first to seize the opportunity to speak up.

“Man, and we didn’t even need mistletoe _…_ ” Yosuke heaved with an exasperated sigh. Although his words sounded tired on the surface, the blissful look on his face was undeniable. “If we kissed that much just from dancing with each other, could you imagine what would have happened if I’d surprised you with that instead?”

Yosuke left the question open-ended, praying silently all the while that his partner would pick up on the subtle hint and answer him.

Like always, Souji met and exceeded his expectations.

“Well, it’s still early,” he chuckled, wearing a catlike grin upon his glowing face. “If we have mistletoe...do you want to hang it up and find out?”

Yosuke bit into his lip and could hardly contain the excitement when he told his boyfriend that there already was one pinned over the threshold that led to their bedroom.

The evening's festivities continued long past their romantic dinner and dance routine and kept both of them merry for the rest of the evening, and all the way into the following morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Wherever you are or whoever you're with, I'm wishing you all the best and plenty of warm wishes.
> 
> To youngizzik, thank you so much for your amazing prompts! It was hard to choose just one, but I hope that I did your prompt justice.
> 
> Happy holidays! I'm sending you all hugs and kisses! Bye for now! <3


End file.
